Jaw Bottom Plantation

The woodland at Jaw Bottom feels properly remote given it's barely half an hour from Hull's sprawl. You're walking through mixed broadleaf and conifer plantation - not ancient forest, but genuinely peaceful once you get past the car park and the initial scrappy bits. The paths wind through decent stands of oak and beech, and in spring there's a carpet of bluebells that actually justifies the trip.

Walkers will find it absorbing for a couple of hours. The terrain's gentle enough for families with kids who aren't completely bored by trees, though there's not much to actually do - no play equipment, no visitor centre, just forest and quiet. Bring the spaniel by all means, but don't expect dramatic vistas or dramatic anything really. It's the kind of place you go to think rather than to be entertained.

The best time is late April through May when the woodland comes alive, or autumn when the light through the canopy gets proper moody. It's free, as far as anyone can tell, and you can spend as little as thirty minutes or stretch to an hour-and-a-half depending on how you feel.

If you're staying at one of the holiday parks nearby - Little Otchan, Withernsea Sands, or Sand le Mere - Jaw Bottom makes a solid morning filler between breakfast and lunch. Not a destination in itself, but a genuine breath of actual Yorkshire countryside when you need an escape from caravan life.